The story of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab and his plot to bring terror to the American skies has been playing out over this Christmas period. Almost daily revelations of failures to communicate intelligence information, not to mention the apparent ease with … Read more...

At the centre of many Christians’ conceptions of Christmas is a story about how Jesus’ birth came to pass. The gospel writers supply different stories about Jesus’ birth and its significance – for instance, Luke emphasises Jesus’ humble origins and … Read more...

Shoplifting is a Christian option. So says Fr Tim Jones of St Lawrence and St Hilda Parish in York, who advised the poor members of his congregation to steal from large national businesses if they were desperate in the run-up … Read more...

Terror and wonder. Religious education has the power to instil such emotions in the young. Recent revelations have exposed the physical and sexual abuse that was rampant in many of the state-run, church-controlled churches on this island. On the other … Read more...

I don’t consider myself a fan of the GAA, having grown up in a part of the United States where awareness of Gaelic Games is non-existent. But I’m deeply intrigued by the relationship between spirituality and sporting excellence, so the … Read more...

Last night’s UTV Insight special painted in disturbing detail the ordeal of Aine Tyrell, niece of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams. Tyrell was sexually abused for eight years by her father (Gerry Adams’ brother), Liam, during the height of Northern … Read more...

In today’s Irish Times, Mary Raftery has offered a shocking analysis of recent comments by bishops named in the Murphy Report on child abuse in the Dublin diocese. Raftery argues that their public statements reveal a stunning lack of will … Read more...

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Welcome to Building a Church Without Walls, a website for people who are excited about how Christianity is developing in the 21st Century. I am sociologist at Queen's University Belfast.

This is my personal site. All views are my own and are not representative of Queen's. I also write for the popular NI Politics site Slugger O'Toole.

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"In The Deconstructed Church, two veteran sociologists of religion give us our most extensive, comprehensive, and revealing ethnographic study of the worldwide phenomenon known as the emerging Christian movement ..." - William H. Willimon